


StayHomeWriMo Day 1. Stolen Childhoods: Eleven

by TheCrazyFriend



Series: #StayHomeWriMo [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-22 21:08:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23300440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrazyFriend/pseuds/TheCrazyFriend
Summary: Inspired by StayHomeWriMo challenge: day 1Prompt: 'write about a character who's stuck inside. How do they feel about it? Why are they there?'
Series: #StayHomeWriMo [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1675651
Kudos: 1





	StayHomeWriMo Day 1. Stolen Childhoods: Eleven

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!! This is a submission for StayHomeWriMo which inspired me to write this little fic about Stranger Things. 
> 
> Depending on how the prompts go and whether they're suitable, the StayHomeWriMo submissions may split off from the Stolen Childhoods series!

A small brunette with closely shaven hair sat alone on her small bed in her tiny, bland and dreary room, gazing aimlessly at her wall. The small four-year-old had been told by her father figure, a man she only knew as Papa, that she would be going to the Rainbow Room that day but the guard that usually walked her down to the Rainbow Room hadn’t shown. She was bored and lonely, the feelings that she had gotten most familiar within the building she had never been outside before and had little hope of ever leaving. The girl’s understanding of the passing of time was limited to the passing of her heartbeats but she knew something was wrong. Her Papa had promised that she would have what he called a 'playdate’ with the other girl in the Rainbow Room. Her Papa always insisted that the girl’s name was Eight while the girl argued vehemently that her name was Kali but for some reason the playdate had been canceled, leaving the girl, Eleven, sat in her room staring aimlessly at the wall with nothing better to do since she had been given the day off of participating in experiments, a rare treat for someone with her potential. She had learned long ago that her door was always locked, even when her Papa was in the room with her and she wasn’t really aware enough of the outside world to understand that something was very wrong even though she could hear the alarm klaxon sounding in the distance. She lived with the other experiments in a quieter section of the lab while the klaxons were more in the areas which were considered to be 'active’ and running experiments or where scientists did their work. Eleven had been born and raised in the lab without knowing that the other girl, Eight, hadn’t. Eight had been found a little later on while she was five and in the British equivalent of kindergarten. 

Eight had broken free of the guards while she was being escorted to the restroom before she was taken to the Rainbow Room. The dark-skinned child had shown a desire to escape for a long time hence the multiple guards escorting her wherever she went. The disobedient child had taken the opportunity of being alone to squeeze herself into an air duct, making her way through the building back toward the holding cells. The dark-haired girl had intended to find Eleven and take her with her when she escaped but hadn't been able to find the cell that the younger girl was locked up in before the alarms had sounded. Eight had growled in agitation and had been forced to abandon her search, she knew that she was being forced to leave the younger girl in the evil clutches of the man who called himself their father. Since the older girl was almost a teen, she had a greater understanding of what was right and wrong than the younger experiments, Eleven included. Eight had slipped out one of the side doors of the lab using her power to keep herself concealed until she was beyond the boundary fence, she had noticed that one of the guards often slipped out of that particular door to do something that always left her choking on a foul smell, she didn't fully understand but since the building never stunk so she guessed that something stopped the smell from permeating throughout the building. The klaxons continued to ring in her ears as she glanced around, trying to take in all the new sights on her way out. The teen was astounded by the blueness of the sky and the green of the leaves, all she and her spiritual sister had seen were the bland white walls, ceilings and tiled floors of the lab though she was lucky enough to have a few cherished memories of the outside world.

Later that day, one of the many unfamiliar guards entered the tiny and isolated room. Eleven had lost count of the number of heartbeats that had passed since her Papa had visited her to tell her that she had earned a play date in the Rainbow Room, she couldn’t count much beyond a few hundred at a push. One of the lab workers had taken time out during his lunch period to start to teach the brunette how to count but he had been caught before he could teach her much and had been reprimanded for his efforts. “Eleven” the man spoke, his tone emotionless and uncaring. “You won't be going to the Rainbow Room today, your Papa will probably come by later today though”  
Eleven merely nodded. “Tests?” she asked nervously with her limited vocabulary  
“No, no tests today, Eleven. Your Papa promised you a day off today but your playdate is suspended indefinitely” he spoke then left the room, leaving Eleven to her confused thoughts. What did indefinitely mean?

It was another few hours at least before Eleven's Papa unlocked the door and stepped in, carrying something behind his back. “Hello, Eleven” the man spoke gently.  
“Papa” the child spoke softly, looking up at her father figure with the innocence of a child. The girl didn't know what Brenner had been doing, how he had hurt her mother, how he had attempted to have Eight killed for escaping.  
“I'm sorry, Eleven. I know you were supposed to have a playdate with Eight today but Eight was a bad girl today and I think you're going to have to get used to playing alone. I have some things to help you make the adjustment”  
“Why?” the girl asked, “why is Eight bad?” Eleven had once asked why the older girl had called herself Kali while he called her Eight. Brenner had told her that Kali was a name she had given herself because she was a bad, disrespectful child.  
“Eight attempted to leave us” he spat, still furious about her successful escape from the lab and his best employees. He was furious that the child had managed to evade his best and that he had been forced to send out an untested operative after her  
“Why, Papa?” the curious brunette asked quietly.  
“I don't know” he lied. He knew, of course he knew that Eight was unhappy in the lab, of course the teen wanted to escape from the lab but he didn't want Eleven to get any ideas. “Cos she didn't like us, didn't like me”  
Eleven looked down sadly. Eight didn't like Papa? Eight didn't like the man who worked so hard to keep them safe. “She was a bad girl”  
“Yes. She was, Eleven. That's why she won't be attending anymore of your playdates. She's going to be in isolation for the rest of her time with us unless she's taking part in experiments” he vowed, “she will be punished” Brenner then pulled out a notepad and a set of pens. Eleven's eyes lit up, her spiritual sister forgotten in the excitement of getting something nice to play with.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this!:)


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